A Word on Comfort

We all like to be comfortable, don't we? We enjoy the luxuries of everyday life, whether it's the expensive company car or the gourmet food in your pantry. Everyone likes to be comfortable.
Yet, as it is, you can't always have the best of everything, and that stands true for most aspects of life. Sometimes, you have to ride the bus because that company car broke down, and sometimes, you have to buy generic. That's just the way it is.
Now, what do most people do when things aren't going their way? Usually, we just grit our teeth, suck it up, and make the most of it. At least, we should. We can't always be content and we can't always feel safe and secure. Sometimes we feel upset, like nothing's going our way. Maybe your cat ran away; maybe your boyfriend, girlfriend, or fiancee left you; or maybe you were just diagnosed with cancer. Whatever the case may be, you're upset, alone, depressed; you feel like there's no one to turn to.
So what is it that over 2 billion Christians, and perhaps the 1.3 billion Islam and 900 million Hindu, do to remedy this? Pray. They pray and pray and pray. They pray that their cat will return home. They pray that their lover will come to their senses, and come back to them. They pray that this deadly disease will leave them, and they will wake up tomorrow, ready to start their new wonderful day, cancer-free.
Alright, fair enough. Now what would the common Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist do? They'll put up LOST CAT posters. They'll go out and try to meet someone new. And most of all, they'll stop pretending that any sort of wishing, in any manner, will fix their problems.

Now which remedy do you think will provide better results, in the real world?

The other day, my sister cut her finger on one of our brand new Martha Stewart kitchen knives. She screamed and cried, and when my father looked at it and said she would probably need to go to the hospital to get stitches, she freaked and screamed even louder. Then she bellowed at the top of her lungs: "MOM, I WANNA PRAY. MOM, LET'S PRAY." Naturally, I burst out laughing, much to the displeasure of my parents. In any case, my mother sat down with my sister and they prayed. I couldn't hear them, but I couldn't possibly think what they could be saying that would make any sense.
My sister calmed down and weeks passed, and of course, her finger became quite painfully infected, which took much longer to heal. I thought to myself (but didn't say to my sister, not wishing to receive any more glares from the 'rents), This is what happens when people rely on prayer and wishing and a Big Cheese In The Sky. They think that because they prayed, they at least don't have to deal with the initial problem, leaving them with a complex and a bigger problem in the end.

Just because 'God' makes you feel better at that moment by 'telling' you that 'everything's gonna be alright', doesn't mean it makes sense. Think about it.
In conclusion:Stop wishing. Start doing.